Playstation Vita UK Release Date & Price Announced

Not Quite The Bargain We Were Hoping For

We’ve been waiting patiently for news about when we will finally get our hands on our very own Playstation Vita, and now we know; 22nd February 2012. Now for the not so great news; it appears we’ll be paying at least £229 for one.

After President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Jack Tretton announced at Web 2.0 in San Francisco that the US release date would be in February next year, the official European Playstation blog confirmed that Europe would be also be getting it on the very same day. Sadly though, as is always the way with all things in consumer electronics here in the UK, the currency conversion has not translated and we will have to pay £229.99 for the Wi-fi only version, with the 3G-enabled version coming in at £279.99, where as in the US the prices are $249.99 and $299.99 respectively. There has also been no confirmation as to whether UK buyers will be forced to a specific network for their 3G version like US and Japanese consumers have, or whether we will have to freedom to choose which provider to go with. We’ll be sure to update you when we hear.

Additionally, launch titles for the European release date are yet to be confirmed, but with over 100 titles currently in development, some of which are looking mighty fine indeed, we can expect some top quality games to be ready come its release next year. Of course, for those who hate waiting, the Japanese launch of the console will take place on December 17th, and will be region free.

With the price not being as low as some would have hoped, and with cheaper (and more established) portable alternatives available, it will be interesting to see if today's announcement will put any form of dent in the Vita's momentum. However, one thing is for sure; the Vita is looking to be quite the powerful handheld gaming device, and there are undoubtedly some Dealspwners amongst you all that already have pre-orders of your own. [Destructoid via VG247]